In great bookselling karma, the MINI got attention from book people right off the bat. As I stopped in traffic on Bleecker Street, there was a knock on my window… “THE PENGUIN MINI!” said the excited hip gentleman outside. “I drove it last summer and got T.C. Boyle’s signature on the dashboard!!!” I was like “No way! Now it’s on Nantucket, I bought it for my bookstore!!!” (If you missed that news, here’s the Globe article.) Turns out he knew that, and had even been to Bookworks this year. So on that high note I circled the block trying to find a place to park. As I maneuvered into a tiny spot on 11th Street, a woman was locking up her bike right next to me. When I triumphantly opened the door she of course said, “Great car!” so I said “Thanks! I bought it from a publisher called Penguin and they took it on book tour and got all these great authors to sign the dashboard!” To which she replied, “That’s so cool, I design book covers for Random House!” I guess it’s a small world after all… either that or this car is a SERIOUS publisher-type magnet.

The MINI spent a nice night soaking up aromas from the Magnolia Bakery, then in the morning we headed over to McNally Jackson.

Our friend Michele Filgate, who we met at a booksellers’ Winter Institute in Louisville a few years back, is Events Coordinator at the beautiful store. We stay in touch quite a bit through the miracle of Twitter. (Follow @nantucketbooks, @wendyhudson, and Michele at @readandbreathe for fascinating tidbits!) Here’s Michele with the beer:

And admiring the signatures on the dash:

And here’s the beer ready for the event. Note the white tail (not blue!) and the literary allusion of the beer’s name (tale not tail!) BTW, the Whale’s Tale tagline is “For a Moby Good Time” ; )

I wish I could make it back for the event… Sponsored by Time Out New York and with an artistic focus, it’s sure to be fun. In the meantime I’ll concentrate on reading Nat Philbrick’s latest book to convince me to return to the gigantic novel I read way back at the Williams-Mystic Maritime program in the Spring of 1988. (Yes, the details are fuzzy…)

Cheers to Epic Quests.

-Wendy H.

Moby Dick sweatshirts & tees! Old Man & the Sea shirts! And yes, there’s waaay more. I love these shirts so much I went a little overboard… they’re soft and cool and will make excellent gifts.

We’re proud to stock the Out of Print line because this awesome clothing company has a lot going for it. The shirts are 100% cotton, made in USA, printed in Brooklyn, and for every item of clothing they sell they donate a book to a needy community in Africa through their partner Books for Africa. What could be better?!

Adult shirts go for $28, kids for $22, and the super-soft fleece sweatshirts are $38.

Here’s just a sampling of the shirts proudly hanging at the ‘works:

The kid ones are adorable. I especially like Darwin for a kid…

And the sweatshirts are dreamy soft. I cozied up with my new P&P fleece with the Flashdance styling last night. The perfect outfit for a chilly June night! I was in heaven with a glass of wine reading “Bossypants.”

Show your literary pride by rocking these great shirts around the island this summer. You’ll look classic.

-wh

*If you didn’t get a chance to respond yet, just click right here.

And what did we find out? Well we had lots of great feedback, but as for clear direction… it’s still complicated. Overall, there was great consensus that people don’t want to see us reduce our inventory of physical books, so we will certainly hope to oblige. People love our hours, so we’ll keep that tradition up as well. Many people that have E-Readers other than Kindles are willing to try E-Books from our website, provided it’s not too hard to figure out. Many people say they would love to shop with us more but parking is a pain. (‘Twas ever thus.) And lastly many people opined their wish that we had space to offer refreshments. Them and me both is all I can say to that!

For the still curious, here’s an overview of the results from the basic multiple-choice questions:

• 73% of those who responded are year-round island residents
• The top three categories of purchases listed were: 1) Books for adults  2) Gifts  3) Cards & Stationery.
• Less emphasis was placed on books for kids and toys & games, which surprised me, but then they are mainly huge in the summer.
• The number one reason people shop at Bookworks is to “Support the local economy” followed by “Sense of community
• Price was listed as the number one deterrent, with selection and parking following close behind.
• There is strong interest in us offering more events of all types.
• There is strong interest in us offering used & antiquarian books.
• When it came to E-Books, 42% of our respondees said “No way, not ever” would they have an E-Reader, which I found surprisingly high.
• When told that we sell E-Books on our website, the majority said they would buy from us if the price was the same and if we offered support & help.

All that was very interesting indeed, and believe me I’ve been mulling it all over. However, the real meat of the matter came in via the open comment fields, which were included under almost every question. People were very generous with their time and made wonderful suggestions, and they also did not hold back from sharing criticism. This was particularly valuable.

Here is a small smattering of direct quotes. Some I list for the sake of the industry, some for the sake of my staff, and some to elicit further comment. (I should note that the survey was confidential, so I have no idea who said what.)

•  ”I love bookworks and will continue to support your store. … The reason I don’t buy more books is only because I’m trying to have less stuff and borrow from the library more. … I do like the idea of fostering communication, interaction with others, community by having an area to sit, read, write, drink a cup of coffee…but this would likely mean you’d need a bigger space, don’t know if that is an option.”
• “How anyone can prefer holding a plastic device to turning the pages of a real book is beyond me. I love your little shop and I pray that it can continue. It is the first place I go the first night I am on island.”
•  ”Keep up all your good work. Independant bookstores are a must for an informed, literate culture.”
•  ”Add a mid-island location?? A Bookworks library out at cisco? Read with meade? Brewworks? Cisco cafe? you could run book clubs, a la stitch and bitch. More is better though you guys do a great job with what you do.”
•  ”I certainly hope Bookworks survives the seachange in reading that is upon us. Perhaps adding a used book section would help.”
• “A “take-it-or-leave it” section?”
• “A little coffee area? wine?”
• “Regrettably two book shops is simply one too many for this town with its excellent library (including e-access).”
• “It would be great to have a selection of magazines and periodicals, foreign and domestic, that are not carried elsewhere (like at The Hub). This could cover a spectrum of topics such as literature, politics, fashion, health, esoterica, and art, just to name a few.”
• “You had an AMAZING selection a few years ago…now…not so much.”
• “Rental of books on cd.”
• “Selected CD’s and DVD’s. A lot of bookstores off island have Putamayo selections of ethnic music. Is there some distributor with a classical music and classic movie DVD and jazz CD program tailored to put a selection of disks in stores for those of us who don’t steal our music? This is one area where I still spend heavily at Amazon, and there is no competition on Nantucket.” [note-we've been selling Putumayo for several years]
• “Reading glasses & cases exotic tea & honey & crumpet selection ? summer saturday morning outdoor book sale ?”
• “You guys are great. Other than valet parking, I don’t know what you could do better.”
• “When I go off-island to my favorite independent bookseller, they have a section of very high quality, well selected, current and classic discounted books: remainders, hardcovers now out in paperback, printer’s overstock, ect. (Check out Book/Book in NYC to see what I mean). I wish you’d consider something along these lines.”
• “What would Nantucket be without Bookworks , Mitchells and a thriving public library ! I’m proud to be a part of a community that supports these valuable entities.”
• “Love the gestalt, and i believe that local bookstores are the cornerstone of (what remains of) a free society.”

There were also many many comments about our service, some raving and some ranting. In many ways this was the most useful part of the excercise, because we think of ourselves as a helpful and fun-loving bunch!  The fact that we had even one person dissatisfied with service would have been distressing enough, but there were a couple of comments to that effect and we’re taking it very seriously indeed. On the other hand, so glad the rest of you had a good experience!

So what will we do with all this info? First off, we are ramping up our events schedule, beginning with more events for kids and plans in the works for book clubs and the like. We are looking for ways to fit used books in, perhaps seasonally, and we would love to know if someone has a suitable space at affordable rent for an offshoot. We will be putting more emphasis into training, and we will have more shelftalkers and recommendations in the store. Also, we hope to add more magazines not sold at other locations on island. Keep your eyes peeled for this good stuff and please keep your great ideas coming.

Okay, off I go to IMPLEMENT!

Cheers,

Wendy H.

First off, we listened to The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson & the Olympians #1 by Rick Riordan.

Lightning Thief

Three quarters of our family had already read it, but my husband felt left out and wanted to catch up before we go see the movie ASAP when it’s released next month. (Looks awesome btw–here’s a trailer!)

The audio is really fun, with a great reader. One problem is that some of the weaker points in the plot stand out a little more sharply in audio, because we’re all used to a little faster pace in plot & less gullible heroes in film and audio. Overall though it’s a great choice for a family ride – plenty of action with Gods vs. Monsters, and the kids’ modern diction & flippant attitude will totally appeal to the kiddos in the back seat. As an added bonus, everyone gets a refresher course in Greek Mythology – always a good thing!

After hanging out in the fantasy world of Percy for 9 hours, we switched to something a little different in Seasbiscuit.

Now I was passionate about this book when it came out in 2001, so I was predisposed to love jumping back into the crazy world of horse racing, 1930′s-style. I also thought it would be a real education for the kids (who, by the way, are 9 and 12) and I was right. Interspersed with the heart-pounding down-to-the-wire finishes was a lot of great information about the Depression and what life was like during that time. We should have gone with the abridged version, because there was some redundancy as we rolled along, but overall it was a great choice.

With vacation week coming up, many of us have road trips in store. I heartily recommend curling up in the car with an audiobook – they really can be fun for the whole family.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Percy Jackson’s first screenwriter brings Greek mythology to life in The Lightning Thief (trueslant.com)
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• Percy Jackson: My boy’s own adventure (guardian.co.uk)

Mr. Bookworks Bill awoke:

 broke free:

escaped past the Squirrel Underpants:

exerted himself greatly as he crossed the expansive and peril-ridden selling floor:

and headed out the door.

He promises great adventures in the days ahead, perhaps even a near-daily feature pic. We have fun on Nantucket so I bet Mr. Bookworks Bill will show us a good time. Stay tuned by following his escapades on Twitter (@nantucketbooks) or right here at Blogworks.

-by Wenyd

It’s been a beautiful day on Nantucket, with yard work, reading on the deck, and our family’s first trip down to the Creeks. It was also the first day I got out one of my favorite t-shirts, which happens to be from one of my favorite bookstores: the Montague Book Mill. 

Montague Book Mill, Montague, MA

Background: I went to college in the Pioneer Valley (I’m a Smithie) and some of the highlights of my young stressed-out collegiate life were the field trips we would take up to the Book Mill, often ending  with a visit to Bub’s BBQ in nearby Sunderland.  In a life full of some happy memories, those remain right up there.

But back to the shirt. I hadn’t been back to Book Mill for years until last October, when we stopped by after visiting Clarkdale Fruit Farms  in Deerfield to buy apples to make some Cisco hard cider.  We had an awesome lunch in the store’s Lady Killegrew Cafe (their maple milk was a huge hit with the kids) and then poked around the stacks. I wanted to buy something to support them, but for obvious reasons I didn’t really need to buy a book. Then I spotted the t-shirts. How perfect! Plus, margins on clothing are better than the margin for books, so it would be like an extra buck’s worth of appreciation!

The Book Mill has one of the best slogans ever, and from years at the brewery I know my way around the genre.* The line is this: “Books you don’t need in a place you can’t find.”  Leading me to ponder off and on ever since, should Bookworks have a t-shirt, and if so, whatsoever should it say?!?  We bookworkers been having fun bouncing the ideas around (recalling fondly the classic Straight Wharf restaurant shirt the back of which simply read: “Closed Mondays”) but it’s now June and the rubber needs to hit the road, which is where you can chime in… please help us and vote for a winner.

We plan to start with our regular motto–”independent & out to sea”–for it is classic, but I’m contemplating a series. Here’s what we’ve got so far, but perhaps smart like yourself might even do better.

1. inquire within
2. Nantucket Bookworks:  for a Moby Good Time
3. character driven
4. ridiculously open
5. eclectic service!
6. more fun than fits
7. “Nantucket Bookworks is like a house gone feral.” -Fodor’s 1999

See anything you like? Can you do better? Use the comment field to let us know. If we do end up using a suggestion from someone in the crowd, you get bragging rights, a shirt, and an epically loaded Ye Olde Bookeworks Goody Bag.

Cheerio, Wendy H.

*”Nice beer if you can get it.” ”Sankaty Light: Don’t fall off the bluff.”  “We know a good time when we taste it.”  etc. etc. The more beer you drink the easier it gets. : )

On a more local note, Elin Hilderbrand’s publisher–Little, Brown–flew her in this year so we’ve had a fun time talking up the island at various functions and fêtes. (I read Elin’s new book “Castaways”, coming out July 7th, and it’s great–her best yet.) The highlight last night was a Hachette party, where we got to meet David Sedaris, Malcolm Gladwell, and Nicholas Sparks.

The challenge for me is always: how to bring the excitement back to share with the whole staff as well as our customers and friends. But look! Turns out there’s an iPhone app for that.

Cheers, Wendy

Click here for a quick cool dittybop of an ad for Olivia Gentile’s “Life List”

If that piqued your interest as much as we hope, your action agenda item now is to click here to buy.  : )   Tweet tweet.

Find the article here

In a nice twist on the digital age, it was my parents on the Cape who tipped me off about the article (my father heads out every morning to go buy the papers at a little shop in Pocasset). I broke the news to my friends on Twitter and felt like a hero… and when my brother in NYC sent a link via email later in the day I had to tell him that he’d been scooped by an ink and tree-based daily. His facetious response? “What’s ‘paper‘?!?”  I told him I would check with our parents and get back to him. : )

-Wendy H.

A few years ago I was headed to NYC and wanted to find a good hairdresser. Online research led me to a site called Yelp!, which had tips on everything from the best french fries in the Lower East Side to the best dive bars on the Upper West.  The beauty question ended up leading me to one of the odder encounters of my life with a junkie/hairdresser in his one-room salon/kitchen/bedroom in a truly seedy neighborhood west of Madison Square Garden. (I still remember his skinny self proclaiming “Whoa! You have a wicked cowlick, girl!”) That was not an experience–or a haircut–to repeat, but somehow I knew the review site was legit and that the service it offered could be very helpful down the road.

Fast forward two years to where it suddenly dawns on me that perhaps *shocker* people might be reviewing my business(es) online. Whoa what a concept. So I searched for Nantucket businesses and found more than I expected, including the following:

Yelp! Review page for Nantucket Bookworks

I was thrilled to see that 4 out of the total of 5 reviews posted gave us 5 stars. Huzzah! So nice of these great folks to take the time to put in a good word:

“I love, love, love this funky little book shop.” … ”A lovely little nook of a bookstore” … “A true gem in this community.”

What a great feeling to know that our efforts are being appreciated. And then… bum bum bummmm. I read review #5, comparing Ye Olde Bookworkes to…. an AIRPORT BOOKSTORE!!! (Nothing against airport bookstores, and I am a Bookseller with the last name of Hudson, but still.) Check it out:

“Buy your books on the mainland, or, if you’re unlucky enough to be stuck out here for a prolonged period of time, order from Amazon. Both Bookworks and Mitchell’s are small – they carry a token selection of like Penguin Classics or something and then the NY Times Bestseller list. Last summer I noticed their most popular items were the latest Harry Potter and the second Khaled Hosseini book, “A Thousand Piles of Vomit” or whatever. Round that out with day old Wall Street Journals and stuff from Stephen King, Jodi Piccoult, John Grisham and so on…this place is like an airport bookstore.”

Never mind that some facts were wrong–hello, it’s not the NYT bestsellers it’s the IndieBound list and we don’t even carry Wall St. Journals–that review cut me to the core! Interestingly enough though, this glitch in my psyche that dwells only on the negative has proven sort of useful. As I’ve been meeting with reps to do my frontlist buying, there’s a grumpy little voice in my head influencing my decisions and reminding me to keep things real. When I see something with a print run over a certain number of Ks, I ask… is it Bookworks, or is it Airport Bookstore???

Now did I really need that reminder? Probably not. For one thing, the floors of airport stores are a LOT flatter than the ones we’ve got, and so is the selection. Corporate built the airport and ordered the books, whereas on Broad Street it’s just us characters running the show, for better or worse. (Both our floorboards and our selection can tend toward the bouncy.) Every time I tell this little story to a rep, they give an incredulous gasp and talk me down. But still… we need to listen to what our customers have to say. 

So, Dear Reader, please let us know your thoughts–agree? disagree? is Bookworks too commercial? not commercial enough?– by commenting here, or better yet, on Yelp!.  Obviously we take what you have to say rawther seriously.  -Wendy H.

Addendum: I’m combatting the lowbrow criticism by taking the next logical next step: I actually read–and enjoyed–a Finnish novel. (“When I Forgot” by Elina Hirvonen, coming May 1st in trade paper from Tin House). Bet the grouchy Yelper isn’t up on that!

Image Credit: brewbooks via Flickr